Be My Escape
by BackgroundNoise99
Summary: "Dreams for the future?" "They aren't important." As sad as it sounds, it's true. And Makoto Wakahisa had nobody to blame but a clan of power hungry radicals that just couldn't leave well off alone. And her father's genetics, if she was feeling dramatic.
1. Chapter 1

Right. So. This is Be My Escape. It's pretty much an OC story. As a warning, I will be diverging from canon because canon disappoints me. I mean, it was going good for a while, but then I noticed that Sasuke never really changed. Honestly, with the exception of Sakura, none of them really go through a path-changing experience. And I really don't think that he would have been able to just leave Konoha like he did. I mean, he was born there so he would have a lot of information on Konoha. Also, seeing as he's the last of the Uchiha and his single-mindedness on revenge, then he would have been monitered. At least, that's what I would have done. .

T Rating because Makoto swears, is a teenager, and there will be blood spilt, obviously. This may be subject to change. Ages have been changed, so Sakura is fourteen, Sasuke and Naruto are thirteen, and Kakashi is, like, twenty-six. Makoto's fifteen, if you're wondering. I'm not quite sure if there will be a pairing. I just picked Sasuke and Kakashi for the character tags because, with what I have in mind, it made the most sense. Both will play larger parts than most, if not all, of the other characters. There will be a sequel. I already have several ideas for it and a couple more for how this story will end.

The Wakahisa Clan and Makoto, are, to my knowledge, of my making. As such, I own them. Anything you recognize is more than likely the doing of Masashi Mishimoto.

Reviews would make me the happiest camper ever. I like constructive critism. If you can't stay constructive without flames, please don't bother. If you are confused with anything or you feel that characters are not acting as they should be, feel free to tell me.

So, without further procrastination, here is the first chapter. :D

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><p>The hazel eyes of Makoto Wakahisa stared up at the ceiling in an odd mix of boredom and curiosity. She was curious because she'd been there for nearly an hour now and her sensei had yet to show up. But also bored because there was nothing to do other than listen to a desperate pinkette trying to get the attention of an emo kid and the complaints that seemed to flow from a loud, orange jumpsuit-wearing knucklehead.<p>

'_Why did I get stuck with Cockatoo, Pinky, and Shorty?'_ Makoto groaned mentally, now glaring at the ceiling. _'Why can't I be on the same team as Hinata? Or Shikamaru? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?_'

The screech of a chair being dragged across the floor caused Makoto to wince and sit up, sliding her feet from the desk in front of her. Arms folded, she sweat dropped when she saw Naruto balancing on one foot to wedge a chalk eraser in the crack of the door. Sakura rolled her eyes at the blonde's antics while Sasuke scoffed.

"There's no way a _Jonin_," the Uchiha stressed the rank, "would fall for such a stupid-"

Before the dark-haired boy could finish his sentence, a hand opened the door, causing the eraser to dislodge and land with a dull thud on a head of silver, gravity-defying hair. Makoto couldn't resist grinning a small grin as a cloud of leftover chalk formed while Sasuke grimaced. The brunette rolled her eyes at Sakura as she started apologizing to the man she presumed to be their Sensei. Getting up, the oldest of the group made her way over.

"Oh, come on," Makoto deadpanned, now watching a hysterical Naruto roll around on the floor with dull amusement, "you know you enjoyed it."

Said pinkette '_humph_'ed, glaring at the older girl. Simply brushing off the death stare, Makoto looked over at the man with observant eyes.

He wore the standard Jonin uniform, green vest and all. The man's hair was an odd silvery grey and spiky to the point of defying the laws of gravity. The headband around his forehead, like all of the others, had the Hidden Leaf symbol carved into the metal but it was crooked, covering his right eye. A dark mask reached up to the bridge of his nose. Combined with his forehead protector, he had effectively blocked all physical features of his face - with the exception of one coal gray eye - from view. Makoto couldn't help but file this away in her mind under Possible Further Use, or PFU, as she had abbreviated it.

'_Wait a minute,'_ Makoto tipped her head to the side in thought as the man began to look familiar. '_Mask; check. Tilted forehead protector; check. Gravity defying silver hair; check… Ahhhhhh, shit inna bucket, we're fucked!'_

"My first impression of you all….hmmm, how can I say this?" he spoke in mock thought, having slipped into the classic Thinking Pose, before continuing bluntly, "I hate you all."

Naruto went to look over at Makoto curiously when he heard a small noise of disbelief come from her direction but found her gone.

"Uh, Mako-chan?" the blonde questioned, spotting her in a corner near him.

The teen was squatting there with her back to them. Makoto looked at the younger over her shoulder as tendrils of what looked like shadows stretched out to them, face nearly covered by another shadow that had fallen over the top half of her face. Naruto lifted a hand weakly to ask if she was alright when one of the shadows started inching toward one of his feet. The blonde yelped and jumped back, quickly hiding behind Sakura. This brought both Sakura's and Sasuke's attention over to the oldest of the group. The three looked over at the silver haired man after a few seconds of confused assessment, all with very large sweat drops and one large question mark floating above their heads. The Jonin only gave them a single, closed-eye smile.

"Follow me," was the only thing he said before disappearing out the door he had come through not even ten minutes before.

Sasuke was, unsurprisingly, the first to recover from the sudden mood swing of Makoto. He merely shoved his hands into his pant pockets and walked out of the room, muttering something about 'idiotic teammates' under his breath.

"S-Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out, caught off guard.

The pink-haired girl soon raced out the door in pursuit of the Uchiha. Naruto, after a few seconds, noticed that his crush had left him and startled when a hand rested itself on his shoulder momentarily before retreating. He blinked a couple times and watched the black rosebud on the back of Makoto's shirt as she too walked from the room, now seemingly back to normal.

"H-hey!" he yelled. "Guys! Wait up!"

Makoto didn't hear him as she walked behind Sasuke, Sakura, and their sensei.

'_There's no way,'_ she denied both her instincts and her knowledge, _'There's no way that the freaking Copy Ninja is our sensei.'_

Makoto's gaze lowered to the floor in thought. Both her sister and her brother had warned her about her sensei this morning, but they hadn't been very specific. At all, really. They had only said that Makoto might have a hard time with the sensei depending on the teammates she was paired with.

'_What else had they said?'_ Makoto frowned in concentration, unknowingly having started counting the steps that had appearing in her line of vision. _'Jesus Christ onna crutch, this is gonna bother me for days…'_

Finally, the five of them arrived at a small section of the roof, Naruto in toe after having caught up to the rest of them. Makoto looked around her briefly.

The part of the roof they were at was guarded by metal railing and had some trees planted in little squares of grass behind them among the concrete. A bit farther in front of the trees were three or four steps. Sasuke had chosen to sit on the topmost step, mouth leaning on intertwined hands with his elbows on his knees. Naturally, Sakura had chosen to sit near the Uchiha, though down on the step after the first. The pinkette brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Makoto noted that her attention was actually on their sensei rather than Sasuke and grinned internally.

'_Maybe she has the potential of _not_ being a rabid fangirl…'_

Naruto, surprisingly, picked the opposite side of the dark haired male and also sat on the second step. Sighing inaudibly, Makoto chose to place herself next to Naruto, laying down on the steps and resting one hand behind her head while the other rested across her stomach, crossing her ankles while she was at it. She situated so the hood of her shirt was being used as a pillow along with her hand and the concrete steps were a bit more comfortable. Makoto closed her eyes but soon opened them again when Naruto snickered.

"What?" the oldest asked, slightly irritated.

Naruto grinned at Makoto.

"You hang around Shikamaru too much, Mako-chan," the blonde informed her, grin now turning mischievous.

Makoto rolled her eyes and waved him off with her unoccupied hand, though the affect was countered by the quiet chuckle that followed. A mutter of 'idiots' was heard from nearby. Makoto rolled her eyes again, this time in annoyance, before looking over at Naruto and winked.

"Uchiha, you're just jealous," Makoto spoke with casual ease.

Sakura made an affronted noise and Naruto's grin returned.

"In your dreams, Wakahisa," Sasuke retorted, monotone.

Makoto's grin widened into a smirk, seeing an opening.

"I didn't say you were jealous of Naruto-kun, Emo Boy."

The result of such a simple comment was enormous. Sakura made an odd squeal of disgust hiding her face in her hands and Naruto was launched into loud laughter, nearly falling over. Sasuke stiffened considerably.

"Hey, I didn't miss that little steamy bit in the classroom."

Naruto's laughter faded and he looked over at Makoto in slight horror.

"Maaaakooooo-chhhaaannnn!" he groaned, though was soon drowned out by Sakura loud voice.

"Ugh, you're so _disgusting_, Wakahisa!"

Though the reaction was very momentary, something flooded through hazel eyes before disappearing. Makoto just grinned more and shrugged. The four's sensei, who had remained silent through all of this, looking on and assessing, was the only one who saw it. The silver haired man's visible eye narrowed ever so slightly on Makoto, who popped open an eye and met the gaze momentarily before closing it again.

"Ah, I apologize, Sensei," Makoto told the man, "it was an opportune moment I couldn't pass up."

Their sensei just shrugged, the attention of the four back on him, though there was still a distinctly green hue to Sakura's face.

"Let's begin with introducing yourselves," he stated more than suggested.

"What do you want to know?" Sakura counteracted automatically.

Makoto, who had decided to keep her eyes open lest she did pull a Nara and fall asleep, watched as their sensei shrugged again.

"Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies," the Jonin listened off flippantly. "Things like that."

Makoto jerked an eyebrow up momentarily, beginning to question if this was actually the Copy Ninja.

'_He fits the description but he's so damn laidback….'_ Makoto thought, frustrated.

"Hey, why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" Naruto suggested.

"Yeah, he looks kind of suspicious…" Sakura spoke in an undertone.

Makoto simply couldn't resist.

"That'd be the mask, dear one."

Ignoring the glare that the cherry blossom sent the brunette's way, Makoto leaned back against the steps again, gazing up but zeroing in on everything the man said.

"Alright," he conceded, "Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake…I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes…dreams for the future, hmm…and I have lots of hobbies."

Four large sweat drops appeared on each Genin head. Makoto pushed back the need to slam her head onto the concrete repeatedly. But before anyone could voice their disagreements, Kakashi went on.

"So, let's start from the right."

Makoto sighed and sat up, silently regretting her decision to sit next to Naruto.

"My name is Makoto Wakahisa," the hazel eyed teen started out. "I like puppies and long walks on the bea-"

"Wakahisa."

Makoto looked over at Sasuke, who had been the one to speak up.

"Seriously," the Uchiha deadpanned when he was sure he had the older girl's attention.

For a moment, they stared at each other, neither moving and completely motionless, before Makoto rolled her eyes, breaking eye contact. Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi watched this in jealousy, confusion, and amusement, respectively.

"Fine, fine," the teen muttered, for once not putting up a fight. "I actually like music and reading. I dislike bright colors and people with superiority complexes. My hobbies are training and writing."

A period of silence followed as the rest waited for a dream to be added to the predetermined list. An unseen frown appeared on Kakashi's face when Makoto leaned back against the steps again and closed her eyes, obviously not planning on saying any more.

"Dreams?" Kakashi finally prompted.

Once again, a hazel eye, now more tinted brown and guarded, popped open.

"They aren't important."

It was a simple statement that shouldn't have really made the impact it did. Sakura looked at the older girl in slight confusion, wondering what in the world that was supposed to mean while Sasuke hid his frown behind his hands, thoughts, for once, on the same level, if not a little more intelligently. Naruto, on the other hand, looked at Makoto blankly. Silently, the blonde promised himself to find out just what was eating at one of the few people who didn't look at him with cold eyes. Kakashi once again watched the brunette with an unyielding eye.

"Next."

The man's voice brought everyone from their thoughts and made Naruto snap to attention. Makoto opened her eyes and turned her head in the hyperactive Genin's direction.

"Right! My name is Naruto Uzumaki," he began. "I like ramen, especially when Iruka-sensei pays. I dislike the three minutes I have to wait to eat cup ramen. And my dream…"

Naruto trailed off momentarily before grinning widely and reaching up to adjust his headband.

"My dream is to surpass the Hokage! Then everyone in this village will have to acknowledge me!" Naruto then rubbed the back of his head and continued, "Hobbies? Eh, pranks, I guess."

Makoto couldn't help but grin at the blonde. He had made such a bold statement, saying that he would surpass the Hokage, then ended it all with little thought to exactly how outrageous it sounded. This was one of the reasons she was able to get along better with the Uzumaki than the Haruno or the Uchiha.

"Blue."

Barring that he looked slightly miffed about being called 'Blue', there was barely a change of expression on Sasuke's face.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things I dislike and there's not much I actually like. And…I can't really call it a dream." The young Uchiha paused before continuing, "But I have an ambition: the resurrection of my clan and…"

The second pause made Makoto frown but she kept her eyes closed.

"To kill a certain man."

The frown on Makoto's face deepened while Naruto and Sakura looked at their teammate in shock. Taking a peak at Kakashi, Makoto became troubled in seeing that he didn't look shocked or worried. Though faint, the only thing there was a grim, fulfilled expectancy.

"Ok." Kakashi glanced at the four of them, gaze stopping on Sakura. "And lastly, the other girl."

Sakura blinked a couple times and looked away from Sasuke and over to the man.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," the bright-haired girl started before obviously starting to stare at Sasuke out of the corner of her eyes. "The thing I like is….well, the person I like is….And, um, my dream for the future?"

The familiar overwhelming urge to bang her head on the concrete hit Makoto again as the pinkette squealed at whatever she was thinking. Instead, she opted to bring her hand up swiftly to slap her forehead, feeling something akin to shame and embarrassment for the younger girl.

"What I dislike….is Naruto."

At this, Naruto made an odd whimpering noise, though it was promptly ignored by everyone except Makoto, who spared him a pitying look.

"My hobbies…." Sakura once again trailed off, now having turned her head to fully stare at the most dark haired of present company.

"Saaaaaakuuuraaaaaaa…" Makoto groaned, now sitting up with her face in her hands, rubbing at her eyes as her mind went through what Sakura could possibly be thinking about now. She feared that the images had imprinted themselves into the flesh that covered them. _'There goes her potential…'_

Said girl looked over at the brunette with unfriendly eyes.

"What, Wakahisa?" she answered with what sounded like great reluctance.

"Can you, please, yanno, leave absolutely _nothing_ to the imagination? Just for once?"

Sensing a coming argument by the sizeable glare coming from the pink haired one's eyes, Kakashi intervened.

"Ok!" The exclamation effectively drew everyone's attention to the masked man, who inwardly sighed and proceeded, "Tomorrow we start our duties as shinobi."

This seemed to automatically get Naruto's adrenaline going.

"Yeah!" The boy shouted and, oddly enough, saluted, "What kind of duties!"

"First, we're going to do something with just the five of us."

Makoto arched an eyebrow at him, immediately suspicious. Her instincts screamed at her that something was up, he was going to pull some kind of card on them. Of course, that could be her paranoia talking.

'_I always have gotten those two confused,_' Makoto thought with distance, instincts and-slash-or paranoia causing her mind to go a mile a minute. The teen was soon brought back by her blonde teammate asking what they'd be doing together. She barely caught the answer.

"Survival training," Kakashi told them simply.

'_Yep,'_ Makoto sighed internally. _'Definitely up to something.'_

She wasn't the only one confused. Sakura and Naruto had immediately begun to question this and, though he didn't voice anything, Sasuke's eyes narrowed a little. Makoto was sure there was a small frown behind his hands but let it go, turning her focus back to Kakashi and the others.

"Why is our first duty training?" Sakura asked, clearly confused. "We've had enough training at the academy."

The silver-haired man shook his head, a smirk almost visible beneath the dark material of his mask.

"This training is different," he told the four, "This time, I'm your opponent."

"What's so funny, Sensei?" Sakura half questioned, half demanded as said Jonin began to flat out _giggle_.

"Well," he started out, letting out another chuckle. "It's just that, when I tell you, you guys are going to freak out."

"Freak out?" Naruto echoed. "Why?"

Kakashi leaned toward them, and reached up with a couple hands, finally shifting his arms-and-ankles-crossed position to push up the part of his headband above his uncovered eye. There was definitely a smirk underneath his mask now.

"Of the twenty-eight graduates, only ten will be chosen to become Genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy." Kakashi elaborated to them, "This survival training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent."

Makoto slowly felt shock and foreboding enter her mind and body, slowly processing everything Kakashi had just said. What did he mean that he'd be their opponent? Were they to fight separately or conjoined? Well, that wouldn't work out well. The four of them were far too at odds with each other to work together. They'd have to do it separately. The man was so far ranked above them, how could they even stand a chance, even on the off possibility that they decided to work together? Makoto glared at the man as he began to laugh quietly again.

A heavy weight had descended in the air while Makoto went through her thoughts, all the while an even heavier presence settled itself in her chest. Though some of the confidence that she had had before slipped away, Makoto leveled her gaze at the Jonin, not really looking at him. It made more sense that way, at least. They were finding the weakest and throwing them back to the academy so that only the capable ones would become true shinobi.

"Alright," Makoto breathed quietly, causing the others to look at her. The oldest noted this but made no move to lighten the atmosphere as she usually would have and continued, "So all that work we did in the academy; it was only to figure out who would have better chances to become Genin. We're going to have to put everything we learned into a much more realistic situation…"

Makoto didn't bother to recognize the shock in her teammates or the twinge of dawning acknowledgement in the Hatake's eye.

'_I can deal with that,'_ the hazel eyed teen finished in her head, not bothering to do so vocally. When this seemed to cross Kakashi's mind, he carried on.

"Anyway, tomorrow, you have to show your real skills on the training ground. Bring all of the shinobi tools you have." The silver haired man paused before adding a warning, "Oh, and don't eat breakfast unless you want to throw up."

He pushed off of the railing and walked toward the group, papers in hand. Makoto, sensing the end of this meeting, stood and received hers. Hazel eyes scanned over the paper carefully. There was little that Kakashi hadn't already said but she folded it a couple times and stuck it in her pocket never the less.

With nothing else said, the man made a hand seal before disappearing with a poof of smoke, leaving a few leaves in his place. Makoto sighed before turning to speak to the others but found two of the three others gone. Watching Sakura run after Sasuke, she frowned before turning to Naruto. The older one didn't get a word in.

"See you tomorrow, Makoto!" Naruto called to her, already a good distance away in the others' direction.

Ignoring the small bit of annoyance that flared, said teen stuffed her hands into her pockets and began walking the opposite way and down a set of steps. She really needed a new team.


	2. Chapter 2

Yeah. So, I decided that if they can have adequate hospital machinery and walkie-talkies in the form of small headsets, then MP3s can exist too. Therefore, by extension, so can computers. But phones and the like don't, hence the scrolls via bird. Mainly because I always include music in my stories, but wutevarr.

This chapter is short, like half as long compared to the first. Sorry about that. .

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><p>The next day dawned too early for Makoto's liking. Sitting up in her bed, she looked at a nearby clock. It was five-fifteen in the morning. How the hell was she supposed to kill an hour and a half? Grumbling some rather unlady-like things underneath her breath, Makoto crawled out from the blankets and took a quick but thorough shower. Walking out in shorts and an oversized t-shirt, she padded over to her dresser. Opening the top and bottom drawers, she pulled out her usual clothing: dark green shirt, black undershirt, black pants, and belt.<p>

The sleeves of the dark green shirt were long and stopped at Makoto's knuckles. While said sleeves were loose, the torso part of the shirt was tight fitting, but not to the point of suffocation. There was also a black hood attached to the back and a matching, large front pocket. On the back was the Wakahisa symbol, a budding black rose with no stem. Underneath the unbosoming flower was a couple of the same color petals from the bud. It was basically a hoodie, though made of much more light material. The tight fitting torso made it easier to move, as baggy clothing can cause more air resistance, and the light material added to speed and flexibility. The undershirt, unlike the green shirt, had no sleeves but was of the same light material. It was also a tight fit.

The pants were straight leg and only slightly loose, starting out tight at her thighs before flaring out as it went farther down the pant legs. The belt, also black, and though a bit unneeded, was wound firmly through the pant loops. When Makoto had her standard blue sandals on, the pants had the tendency of covering everything but her toes and the ends typically got trampled on, causing a fraying at the ends. There was also a hole at her left knee, though Makoto really couldn't be bothered to fix the fabric. The whole outfit was realistically based on mobility and comfort.

Makoto glanced at the clock again to see it around forty-five minutes more than she had last checked. Growling under her breath at the slow passing time, she attached her black weapons pouch to her right thigh along with her small, dark green medic pouch under it. Going back into the bathroom, the hazel eyed teen opened a cupboard and pulled out a hairdryer. Eyeing the infernal contraption as she plugged it into the wall, Makoto flipped it on and began drying out her auburn hair, knowing that if she didn't, the thick strands would still be half-sopping during survival training.

Several minutes later of half-hearted struggling with trying to dry her hair and yelps of pain caused by trying to brush out knots caused by the drying, Makoto looked in her bathroom mirror at her reflection. Her auburn hair swayed slightly just above her waist, a bit more bushy than usual, a byproduct of using the hairdryer. Soft waves started just around her ears as a result of being brushed out and put into a low ponytail or messy bun while still wet and her bangs hung down and curved slightly at the ends as they reached her chin, parted at the middle of her left eye. Small glints of blonde and red shined in the lighting of the room, otherwise unknown to exist. Two pairs of hazel eyes narrowed before the real version sighed and fixed the strands into the usual messy bun.

Walking out of the bathroom and in the direction of the living-dining room combo, Makoto crossed the hall to enter her bedroom momentarily in order to retrieve her headband and MP3 from her bedside table, putting on her sandals while she was at it. The teen clipped said device to her belt and slipped in her earphones, flicking the power switch to on. After a few seconds of silence, the beginning violin of Thanks For the Memories by Fall Out Boy began to play. A small grin formed on Makoto's face as she locked her small apartment up and launching herself up onto the roof.

"Ready…Set," Makoto muttered calmly to herself, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. After a few minutes, Fall Out Boy faded out and was replaced with Relient K. As it reached its chorus, Makoto's eyes snapped back open, "Go."

With a burst of speed, the brunette lifted off from the roof in a chakra-heightened jump. Her toes barely touched the next roof before she was once again momentarily suspended in air. Once Makoto landed onto another roof of shingles, she hopped down into an alley and tore out of it. The hazel eyed girl never lessened her pace while weaving in and out of the condensing crowds. Though completely engrossed in the music that pumped into her ears, Makoto was just as aware of her surroundings, of each twist and turn, each person she passed, and never once did she touch them, not even a small brush. All the while, the brunette had been running through the survival training details Kakashi had given her yesterday.

Multitasking was something she had learned to do from her siblings long ago and it also turned out to be something Makoto was extremely good at. And, oddly enough, music helped in that matter. Daisuke often liked to tease her about it, saying that if Makoto ever lost her MP3, she'd lose her 'Super Awesome Expert Crowd Weaving Abilities', as he had come to christen it. That is, whenever he and Emiko managed to drop by.

Makoto shook her head, trying to rid the bitter thoughts by focusing on the switch from Paramore's Decode to Paralyzer by Finger Eleven.

'_Being in ANBU is time consuming and dangerous,'_ the youngest of the Wakahisa reasoned to herself, though her words sounded empty and well rehearsed to even her as she took care to run on the edge of the bridge railing and jump to the trees. _'It's not their fault that they don't have much time…' _

The intended ending was left off though a small voice in her head decided to finish it for her.

'…_for you.'_

Makoto promptly visualized kidnapping all the fangirls in Konoha, duct taping their mouths shut, and using cruel means of torture, A.K.A making them believe that Sasuke hated them all and was gay for Kiba. The thought made Makoto grin as she settled in a tree of the appointed training grounds that had been pre-mentioned in those papers. The oldest of the Team Seven Genin laced her fingers and laid them on her stomach and let one leg dangle from her self-appointed branch, leaning back against the trunk of the tree.

'_I could recruit Naruto,'_ Makoto thought idly, closing her eyes, _'Though it would include Sakura, so he probably wouldn't want to.'_

Only a small amount of time passed before the last Uchiha made his approach to the training grounds. As he reached the tree that Makoto rested in, the young Uchiha sighed and sat under the shade of the leaves. There was a slight rustle above him. Startled and relying on instinct, Sasuke jumped away and threw a kunai in that direction. The following result was a yelp, causing the dark eyed teen to arch an eyebrow.

"The fuck!"

The leaves once again rustled as Makoto jumped down onto the spot where Sasuke once sat. The older girl turned her gaze to her teammate, now sporting a slightly bleeding cut on her cheek and holding up the offending kunai.

"Lose something, Uchiha?" the brunette questioned dryly, throwing it over to him and wiping a bit of blood away.

The boy caught it easily and stashed it back into the pouch on his left thigh, giving his usual 'hn' as his only response. Makoto only rolled her eyes before plopping back down onto the ground and putting the earphones back in. For a bit all that kept the two from lapsing into total silence was the faint sound of Linkin Park coming from Makoto's earphones. Several songs and what was becoming an increasingly irritating silence later, the atmosphere was shattered by a yell loud enough to break the young Wakahisa's musical trance.

"MAAAAAKOOOOOO-CHHHAAAAN!"

Makoto's head snapped to the direction of her blonde teammate as he ran to them.

"Ouuuchhh…" she groaned, rubbing the back of her neck and grimacing.

"Hey! What's up, Ma-" Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and trailed off, staring at Makoto's face, "-ko…chan…"

The girl in question blinked a couple times, clearly confused as she tugged an earphone out of one of her ears.

"S'up, Naruto," the teen unsuccessfully tried to catch his attention and carried on, "What? Is there something on my face?"

Naruto blinked once and met her eyes.

"How'd you get that cut on your face?"

"Oh. That," Makoto muttered. "Uchiha over there threw a kunai at me when I was up in a tree."

"WHAT?"

Makoto quickly saw the on-coming attack and jumped up, just managing to grab the back of Naruto's jumpsuit as he lunged at the Uchiha.

"Naruto, stop," the older spoke calmly, winding an arm around the shorter teen's chest to help keep him in place. "Calm yourself. Do you really think that I would let Uchiha land a cut on me?"

Naruto stopped struggling for a bit but Makoto could still practically feel the anger that radiated from the boy. A scoff could be heard from Sasuke's direction.

"What was that, Wakahisa?" the darker haired one smirked. "I think it testifies against that."

"You're not _helping_ this, Uchiha," Makoto stated, letting some of the annoyance that was swiftly turning into a well-bottled anger sharpen her voice.

For a second, Sasuke looked ready to retort but Makoto glared at him. Even though he didn't show it, this surprised him. From what he'd witnessed during the academy, Makoto Wakahisa had never been one to actually get riled up about something unless it really got on her nerves. And it was best to stay clear when the rarity were to occur. There had been this one day when Makoto had blown up on Kiba because he kept bugging her on why she didn't get along well with a lot of people, the few exceptions being Hinata, Shikamaru, and Naruto. Needless to say, the whole class had gone completely quiet once she had finished yelling Kiba into a cringing mass of fear. After that, Hinata had tugged on her sleeve to get the infuriated teen to sit back down next to her.

"Are you calm?" Makoto finally spoke after she felt that Naruto had calmed down considerably, though didn't relinquish her grip.

"Yes. I am calm," Naruto answered, his tone surprisingly level.

"Alright." Makoto paused, only lessening her hold slightly. "I'm going to let you go now. No attacking Uchiha, as much as I normally encourage it. _Be good_. "

Naruto nodded his consent and the pressure on his chest that had been keeping him securely in place vanished. When it was clear that he would hold his side of the deal, Makoto also let her hand slip from the collar of Naruto's horribly bright orange jumpsuit and settled herself back into the position that she had been in before Naruto arrived. Just as Naruto joined her beneath the tree, the last member of Team Seven began to make her appearance. She looked at them all curiously, as the atmosphere had maintained a slight tension. Going from Naruto, who was glaring at Sasuke, to said Uchiha, who was standing with his hands in the pockets of his white shorts a few feet away, and finally to Makoto, who had her head leaning back against the trunk of the tree and was mouthing the words of Hurricane, and the cut on her cheek. The pinkette shrugged finally before trotting over to Sasuke and beginning her fruitless attempts to get his attention. Naruto watched her do this but said nothing and didn't move, shifting so his lunch was in his lap while he sat with his legs crossed. Makoto looked at the bento, realization dawning.

"Oh, for the love of the Gods…" the brunette muttered and stood.

Naruto looked at her with curious eyes.

"Where are you going?" he questioned, bringing the attention of Sasuke and Sakura over to the oldest, as Makoto quickly put away her MP3 and started to run in the direction of the village.

"I forgot to pack my bento!" she yelled back to them.

Sakura ran a little bit after her before cupping her hands around her mouth.

"But, you can't leave!" She warned, "Kakashi-sensei could be here any minute now!"

"Don't worry!" Makoto's voice was starting to sound distant to the three now sweat dropping teens. "I won't be long!"

And she was intent on making it. She kicked it into overdrive, reaching the streets of the village in no time. Launching herself up to the roof tops to avoid the now thick crowds down below, Makoto gathered chakra in her feet.

'_Thank you, Daisuke,'_ Makoto praised her brother as she unlocked her door not even a minute later, _'You and Emiko's lessons on chakra control.'_

As she reached the small kitchen of her apartment, the brunette paused. On top of the counter was a bento tied with a dark blue ribbon. Walking over to it, Makoto also saw a note on top and read the small handwriting.

"Good luck today, Imouto-chan," the brunette read aloud, "Daisuke and Emiko."

Makoto couldn't resist the silly grin that spread on her face as she folded the note and tucked it into her pants pocket. Picking up the bento and storing it under her arm, she locked the door before sprinting in the direction of the training grounds. Maybe today wouldn't go as bad as she thought it would.

* * *

><p>Yay, boring 'let's-see-how-they-act' filler chapters. Can't you just taste the sarcasm?<p>

Sorry if Makoto seems like the stereotypically sarcastic fangirl-hater. But really, who can stand them? Am I right, or am I right?

Imouto means little sister, for those Naruto Fanfiction Virgins out there. I affectionately call them NFVs. Notes such as these will show up throughout the chapters but I'm not sure if I'm going to bother with the Jutsu names. Which I will probably be using the Japanese names for, 'cause some of the translations are lame sounding. Let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh. Look. A second update in one day. Maybe this means that I'm breaking my procrastion habits? ...Nah.

* * *

><p>"Hey guys," Kakashi Hatake greeted four rather ill-tempered teens. "Good morning!"<p>

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed in unison, pointing accusing fingers at their sensei.

Makoto, who had been pacing back and forth for the last hour, joined in with the finger pointing.

"Dude! You were supposed to be here at seven in the morning! SEVEN!" Makoto growled, "You've had us waiting for nearly four hours now!"

Kakashi said nothing as he walked lazily over to one of the near by stumps and set down a timer on the middle of the three. All anger was forgotten when the man held up two bells, both on separate red ribbons.

"Your task is to take these two bells from me," Kakashi instructed them as he attached them to his waist, "before time runs out. Those that don't get a bell before noon don't get any lunch. Not only will I tie you to one of the stumps, but I'll also eat in front of you."

Makoto frowned as she barely felt the beginnings of hunger edge at her stomach. They had an hour, at most. There was no way they'd be able to do this unless they ganged up on them.

'_Fat chance,'_ the oldest thought grimly, looking over at her teammates, who all seemed much more hungry than she, before looking back at her sensei as he went on.

"You only have to get one bell and, as there are only two, two of you will definitely be tied to stumps. The two who don't get bells fail and will be sent back to the academy. " Kakashi told them, face now completely blank, "You can use whatever weapons but you won't get a bell unless you come at me with an intent to kill."

There was an immediate reaction from Sakura and Naruto while Sasuke and Makoto stayed quiet. The darker of the four sat while Sakura protested due to the supposed danger while Naruto mockingly brought up the chalk eraser incident.

"In the real world, those who bark the loudest often have no talent," Kakashi insulted the loud blonde indirectly. "Ignore Mr. Deadlast and start when I sa-"

He didn't get enough time to finish as Naruto and, to the others' surprise, Makoto charged at the Jonin in anger. Makoto didn't hear Sakura's protest as she brought up the rear behind Naruto, taking out a kunai and throwing it over her long time friend's shoulder. But Kakashi had disappeared the next second.

Makoto swiftly found herself with her back on the dirt with a kunai that was barely an amount of space enough to call distance away from just under her chin, as her headband was around her own neck. Looking out of her peripheral vision, she saw that Naruto was still standing but in a slightly different position. Kakashi had one hand on the top of his head and the other holding Naruto's kunai, hand and all, to the back of the blonde's own neck. Confused, Makoto looked up to find a copy of the silver haired man crouching in front of her with her kunai to her face. Both of the men, Kakashi and his clone, had their head tipped to the side with curious looks in their eyes.

"It seems you're finally ready to come at me with the intent to kill…" A small crease appeared in Kakashi's mask. "I think I'm beginning to like you guys."

There was a poof and one of the Kakashi disappeared as the real Kakashi let go of Naruto. Makoto got up and stood, face schooled into a calm mask.

"Ready…"

Makoto tensed along with Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke, ready to jump at the word.

"Begin."

It took less time for Makoto to react than for Kakashi to even say the word. She was into the air and out of sight in the trees a little before the others, perched in one of the large oaks and smothering down her chakra signature.

'_Alright, guys,'_ Makoto's voice was even a whisper in her head as she jumped down from the branch and onto the ground, eyes scanning. _'Where are you?'_

It didn't take long for the brunette to find a certain head of pink hair. Makoto settled next to her and sweat dropped when she saw that Naruto was still standing out in the open, demanding a fight from Kakashi.

"That idiot," she muttered, startling Sakura.

The other girl sent a glare at Makoto, who brushed it off.

"What are you doing here!" Sakura whispered harshly, clearly annoyed.

"Look, Sakura," Makoto paused, checking to see if Kakashi was still distracted by Naruto, "we need to work together. We won't be able to get a bell if we try to do this on our own. I mean, he's a _Jonin_ for the Gods' sake."

The logic seemed to whiz right past Sakura's head as she shook it.

"Go away before you get me caught!"

Makoto sighed and stayed for a second longer to watch Naruto being sent into a nearby lake before making her retreat. She had wasted time talking to the pinkette and the shout she heard from the girl just after she left had compromised that location. As Makoto passed a tree, there was a glimpse of blue and white. Launching herself over to the branch next to the taken one.

"Uchiha."

Sasuke looked at the hazel-eyed girl and frowned slightly.

"What?"

"We need to work together to get a…" Makoto trailed off when the boy scoffed. Then his eyes narrowed.

"No way…"

Turning her attention back to Kakashi and Naruto, Makoto gaped when she saw several different versions of the blonde. The shock wore off and a grin threatened to overtake Makoto's face.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu…" Makoto muttered as they didn't poof away, drawing Sasuke's attention back to her. Shaking it off, she looked back at the suspicious boy. "There's no way you can do it by yourself. Sure, you're strong but Hatake's a full-fledged Jonin, for Gods' sakes."

"Tch."

When he once again turned his attention back to Naruto and Kakashi, Makoto locked her jaw and pushed back a rising anger. Following the Uchiha's gaze, the youngest Wakahisa watched as Kakashi preformed the Substitution Jutsu, effectively confusing Naruto. Makoto closed her eyes in exasperation when all of the Uzumaki clones started to turn on each other. When all of the clones were gone, the real Naruto sulked before spotting a bell over by a tree.

"He's not really gonna fall for that," Makoto denied. She looked at Sasuke. "Naruto can't be that thick, can he?"

Both watched as he picked up the bell, only to fall for a trap. Makoto groaned silently as a pre-set rope wrapped around one of Naruto's ankles and sent the blonde upside down and hanging from the tree. Sasuke gave Makoto a single look that stated the direct opposite of what she had previously denied. Kakashi appeared not long after, picking up the bell on the ground as Naruto hung there, swinging back and forth slightly.

"Think before you use a jutsu or it could be used against you," Kakashi instructed, tossing the bell up and down in his hand. "Also, don't fall for such obvious traps."

Naruto flailed around, cursing.

"A shinobi must be able to see underneath the underneath," he carried on.

"I know that!"

"I'm telling you because you _don't_ know."

The next second, shuriken were whizzing toward the two. They hit Kakashi dead on.

"Sasuke, you idiot!" Makoto growled, quickly jumping away from the spot. "There's no way he'll fall for that!"

True to Makoto's words, there was a poof and the silvered one was replaced with a log. Distantly, the brunette heard the Uchiha curse. But she was on her way toward Naruto, who was still hanging there and looking at the place where Sasuke had launched the shuriken. He looked pleasantly surprised when he saw Makoto racing toward him. The girl drew a single senbon from her pouch, took aim when she stood in front of the blonde, and threw it, easily hitting the rope. Naruto landed as a heap on the ground.

"Naruto, we need to go after Hatake together," Makoto told him but her words were lost to him.

"Sorry, Mako-chan, but I have to do this on my own," Naruto countered. "Thanks for helping me out."

Before anything more could be said, Makoto's fellow teammate took off. Not so long afterward, a scream was heard.

"Damn," Makoto cursed, once again taking off at a fast sprint.

After a good search, Makoto slowed to a walk in another clearing. She scanned it for a bit and found the source. Walking over to Sakura, who was currently passed out on the ground.

"Sakura." Makoto knelt down, shaking the girl's shoulder. "Sakura!"

"Huh!"

The girl bolted up and her forehead smacked right against Makoto's, causing her to fall backward, groaning.

"Sasuke-kun! Where'd you go!" Sakura jumped up, whirling around, trying to look for Sasuke. "Don't leave me behind!"

Makoto watched with one eye closed and the other watering, causing her sight to blur as the pink haired girl ran off.

'_How'd she recover that fast?'_ Makoto questioned herself, head throbbing.

"Gods, Sakura, how did you get such a _hard__head_?" Makoto groaned. "Maybe I should start wearing my headband on my forehead…"

"That could stop future concussions."

Makoto titled her head further back and saw an upside down man reading an orange book. Sighing, the girl rolled over and sat on her heels.

"You saw that, huh?" Makoto muttered, rubbing her forehead. "That is the _last time_ I ever try to wake up a fucking _fangirl_."

"Language."

Makoto rolled her eyes and stood fully.

"You know, I'm surprised that you didn't come after me before now," Kakashi stated, eye still on the pages of the orange book, which Makoto noticed was called Icha-Icha Paradise.

"I was warned about you," Makoto told him. This statement caught Kakashi's attention enough for him to look up at the girl.

"Really now?"

"Yeah." Makoto hadn't shifted her gaze or stance since standing up, completely content on the current situation. "Besides, there's no way I could get a bell alone."

"Why not ask for help?" Kakashi suggested.

Makoto only shrugged.

"Already did," Makoto countered. "But, as it is, Sakura hates me and is too focused on Uchiha, Uchiha is too prideful and focused on getting revenge, and Naruto wants to do it by himself so he can grow stronger to someday surpass the Hokage."

"And what about you?" the Jonin asked, noting that Makoto had left herself out.

"Me?" Makoto blinked, a bit surprised. "I dunno. What am I?"

There was much more to the question than it really seemed and both knew this.

"You're stalling," Kakashi answered, blunt as he put away his book.

Makoto grinned at him. He was wise to not open that _other_ can of worms.

"That I am."

Before Kakashi could question, or Makoto act, any further, a shrill ring echoed throughout the training grounds.

"And time is up," Makoto muttered to herself, feeling almost relieved and turned to walk back to where they all were supposed to go to after time was up.

"I expected better from a Wakahisa."

The girl sighed at her sensei's words, coming to a stop not far from where she had been to begin with. Makoto looked up at the sky. Though her face was a void of all emotion, the wheels in her head where turning. The same thing had been said before by numerous people: Iruka-sensei, Diasuke, Emiko, her father, hell, maybe even the Hokage. And Makoto was getting sick of it because it left a horrible taste in her mouth and there was a pain in her chest every time those damned words reached her ears, no matter what voice said it. Something like a scoff and a growl combined finally escaped her throat but nothing was actually said. Instead, Makoto shook her head and walked to the edge of the clearing before jumping off into the trees.

It didn't take long for the brunette to get there but was met with an unusual sight: Naruto tied to one of the three stumps and pouting slightly. Well, the pouting was normal, but for the hyperactive shinobi being tied to a stump? It's just too bad that she didn't have her camera on her. Grinning a grin that didn't quite feel right, Makoto walked over. Promptly ignoring the present pinkette and Uchiha, the hazel eyed teen plopped down next to the former. No less than ten silent minutes later, the silvered Jonin arrived. As if planned, the stomachs of Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke growled, all of them clearly hungry. A faint, sharp pain stabbed at Makoto's own stomach but she ignored it.

"Well, you all look very hungry."

The urge to punch the man in the face had never been stronger. But, thinking of the previous events, Makoto settled for locking her jaw in agitation.

"By the way, something about the training…" Kakashi trailed off rubbing the back of his neck before shrugging. "There's no need for you guys to go back to the academy."

For a second, a small spark of hope flared in Makoto's mind, but quickly died. Kakashi had clearly stated that he was disappointed minutes ago. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling, hazel eyes never left the man, ignoring the celebrating others.

"Yup, all four of you…" the man paused, "should quit as shinobi!"

Something more painful and far more persistent than hunger immediately gnawed at Makoto the moment the words slipped from behind Kakashi's mask. Vaguely, she registered the man calling them all punks and Sasuke charging at the Jonin, only to be put face-first into the dirt. As he finally revealed that the secret was teamwork and that the whole thing had been a set up to get them to work together under the stressed circumstances.

"And yet, you guys…" Kakashi looked up at the four of them, hair hanging in his face slightly, gaze starting on Sakura. "Sakura; instead of Naruto and Makoto, who were right next to you, you only thought of Sasuke, who was far away. Naruto; you were just running around by yourself. Sasuke; you just assumed that every one would get in your way and tried to do everything alone."

Finally, the silvered one's single coal gray eye landed on Makoto. With face blank but eyes raging green and brown fire, the youngest sibling and daughter of three of Konoha's top ANBU operatives met the calculating stare.

"Makoto." Kakashi's eye narrowed as he spoke, "Though you did suggest help from all three, you didn't even try. In fact, you gave up after one attempt each. Instead of facing up to a challenge, you backed down like a coward and used excuses covered by logical thinking."

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Makoto realized this as a backhand compliment though the resulting anger buried that epiphany away in an instant. Though the desire to defend herself rose high up in her throat, she swallowed thickly and kept quiet, eyes downcast as the word 'coward' seemed to bounce off the inner walls of her head. The result was an odd, almost theatrical, echo. It probably would have been cool in any other situation.

"The duties are done by the team. Of course, superior individual ability in important to a shinobi but what's even more important is teamwork." While Kakashi reached back into his weapons pouch, he went on, "Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger. And even get you killed. For example…"

Without hesitation, the Jonin put a kunai to the neck of the Uchiha below him.

"Sakura. Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies."

While he did sound convincing with a calm but threatening tone of voice, Makoto closed her eyes as Sakura and Naruto freaked out. A second later, the oldest opened her eyes again to see Kakashi put away the kunai and get up, freeing Sasuke, though he laid on the ground for a bit before sitting up and wiping dirt away from his face.

"You see?" The silver Jonin left no room for an answer. "If a hostage is taken you will have tough choices and then die if you don't think quickly. You will be risking your lives in these duties."

As Kakashi began to walk over the memorial stone in the same area as them, Makoto stiffened and finally looked at what she'd been trying to avoid giving any attention to since she had arrived that morning.

The block-like stone was glinting in the sunshine. On the front and back of the obelisk surface were names carefully inscribed in small print. Makoto's heartstrings stretched painfully as her heart rate sped up to a quick tempo. She watched Kakashi stop off to its side and place a hand on top of it.

"Look at these names."

'_Already have, Hatake.'_ The bitter thought left her mouth dry with an equally bitter taste. Makoto immediately found that she couldn't look away from the names. So many. Too many. There could be three more at any time. And there was nothing Makoto could ever do about it.

"The names of these shinobi are recognized as heroes of this village," the Hatake finished.

In contrast to the tense atmosphere, Naruto perked up at the word 'hero'.

"Hey! That's what I want to become! A hero! I'm gonna get my name carved on that stone! Belie-"

"Naruto."

Everyone turned to Makoto, who had been silent until then. Sakura and Naruto froze while Sasuke stared at her, each in their own form of shock. Even Kakashi had turned slightly to look at the girl. Her voice had sounded strange, not at all like her usual sarcastic manner. It was like she had been forced to swallow something that had been as rough as sand paper and scratched up her throat in the process. Her bangs had creating a thick curtain between them all as she had ducked her head down, sufficiently blocking them from seeing all facial expression.

"They all died during active duty."

Naruto's face fell and he, along with Sakura and Sasuke, turned to Kakashi, who only nodded before turning back to the stone. His hand hadn't moved from the smooth rock.

"This is a memorial," Kakashi certified Makoto's statement. "My best friend's name is carved here…"

This new information only piled onto Makoto's strange behavior, thankfully diverting their thoughts from the girl herself. Slowly Makoto brought herself together and looked up at the man that stood in front of the KIA Memorial. A newly found respect seeped into the brunette's system.

"I'm going to give you guys another chance," said the silvered one, breaking the silence and turning all attention to him as he looked at them darkly. "After you eat, those who wish to challenge me to get the bells will have to work harder to get them, as I will make it harder to get the bells. But Naruto doesn't get any as punishment for trying to eat by himself. If any one gives him food, they fail immediately."

Makoto looked at the man in disbelief, respect flushed away at once. Kakashi's gaze turned darker still, bordering a full on glare targeted at the four Genin.

"I am the rules here. End of story."

Before anything could be said, the Jonin disappeared in a cloud of smoke. A second passed before Makoto stood swiftly, bento in hand, and walked over to the bound blonde, pulling a kunai.

"Wha-"

"Shut up," Makoto ordered, voice monotone.

Slicing the ropes with ease, Makoto stabilized her friend before roughly shoving the incased food onto the blonde's chest. When Naruto made no move to take it, Makoto stood rooted to the spot.

"Makoto," Naruto muttered quietly, using his friend's full name for the first time in a while. "You'll fail if-"

"I thought I told you to shut up."

This time, Makoto's voice softened at the edges as she looked up at the shocked blonde, grinning slightly.

"I know you're starving by now, Naruto."

"But you-"

"I had my chance," Makoto cut across. "Besides, since when do you abide by authority? And who says that just because mean, _old_ Kakashi says that I can't give you food, I'm not going to do it anyway?"

To the duo's surprise Sasuke spoke up.

"If you're going to help, you'll need your strength, " he pointed out. "Without strength from food you'll just be in the way when we all work together to take him down. And then you'll be a liability."

Makoto frowned, obviously not agreeing.

"I'm not taking your food from you, Uchiha."

The dark haired boy look at the oldest with annoyed eyes.

"Hold it," Sakura finally spoke up.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Makoto looked over at her as she addressed Makoto.

"Sasuke-kun and you need your food," Sakura told them. "I'll share my lunch with Naruto. Makoto, you eat yours. Sasuke-kun, you too."

The frown was still on Makoto's face while Sasuke considered this.

"Are you sure?" Makoto pressed the younger girl.

The pinkette just shrugged.

"I'm on a diet anyway."

Makoto looked over at Sasuke, who just looked back at her blankly before shrugging and taking back his pre-offered food. Switching her gaze back to Naruto, she repeated the question.

"I think it sounds like a good idea!" Naruto grinned, "Believe it!"

"Fine, fine." Makoto conceded, "I'm out-voted, I get it."

Plopping back down onto the ground, now holding her own specified bento, Makoto watched the others for a minute. Sasuke had already begun to eat his, while Sakura split hers evenly between she and Naruto. Though the three didn't notice, a true grin snaked its way onto her lips.

'_Maybe I could work with these three,'_ she thought idly, turning to her food.

The poor teen barely started to crack her chopsticks apart when there was a large explosion in front of the four. Kakashi's head popped out of all the smoke, thoroughly scaring all of them.

"YOU GUYS-" he roared at them, then stopped as all of the smoke cleared and continued in an oddly happy voice, "Pass."

Makoto peaked at the man in front of them from behind her limbs, arms up in an attempt to shield her face. He was leaned toward them with his fists on his hips and his showing eye was closed in a smile. She could have sworn she saw a small heart fly from under the fabric of his mask.

"WHAT?" Naruto and Sakura screeched, though only Sakura continued to ask, "Why?"

"You guys are the first." Kakashi told them happily, "Everyone else would just do as I told. They were all morons."

Makoto sweat dropped at the blunt wording.

"A shinobi must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rues and codes of the shinobi world are called trash…" Kakashi trailed off, still smiling, but proceeded, "But you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades…are lower than trash."

All of that respect came rushing back from the metaphorical toilet it had gone down as Makoto chuckled, grinning.

"You crazy bast-"

"Language," Kakashi cut her off, wagging a finger at the teen.

Suddenly, the man did a double take at Makoto, who looked at him curiously.

"What?" she asked, now slightly irritable.

Kakashi arched his visible eyebrow and pointed at her.

"How'd you get that cut on your face?"

* * *

><p>I kept the two bells because, since Kakashi's goal was to pit them against each other, it would have made them even more desperate to get one. After all, two bells plus four people equals even less of a probability to get a bell. You know. If you were wondering. :D<p> 


End file.
